A Pastor in The Northwest

I was reflecting today on the idea of Jesus as my shepherd as described in John 10.  Specifically, I'm thinking about listening and hearing His voice - a voice I recognize because of the time I've spent with Him.  He calls Himself the 'good shepherd' who acts as a guide, a protector, and a defender.   2 The one who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 The doorkeeper [ d ] opens the door [ e ] for him, [ f ] and the sheep hear his voice. He [ g ] calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. [ h ] 4 When he has brought all his own sheep [ i ] out, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they recognize [ j ] his voice. 5 They will never follow a stranger, [ k ] but will run away from him, because they do not recognize [ l ] the stranger’s voice.” -John 10 NET I wonder sometimes if I allow too much noise and distraction to really hear from Jesus.  Do I recognize His voice?  Am I following where He and His voice are lead...

I've been thinking a lot about a concept I read recently called "radical obedience." This is the idea that if and when Jesus commands us to do something or go somewhere, we simply do it - no questions asked. To be honest, this challenges me greatly. Blind obedience with no questions asked. In theory, absolutely! In practice, well, I have questions. Yet, at the end of Jesus' famous 'sermon on the mount', He said it this way in Matthew 7: 24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a gre...

Yesterday I was at a concert, and the headliner artist started his set with:  "Hello and welcome...to YOUR town!"  Now, I'm not sure if he didn't remember the name of the town he was in or if he just got a bit off script, but I've been thinking about that phrase "your town."  Hmm. I've never really thought of the town I live in as mine, really.  Yet, I'm starting to think that might be a good way to think of it because it gives me a sense of ownership and investment.  If it were truly my town, I'd be interested in working to keep it healthy and happy and thriving, right?  I guess I'm now thinking about how I can operate for the good of the city and the people who call it home like I do.  How can I help in the economics of the town, or maybe better support the leaders who make decisions for the citizens?  How can I help with the quality of life and those who are underserved? How can I be proactive about the safety and well-being of those w...

I have heard it said by critics of the Bible that the God revealed in the first or 'old' testament is an angry God and the God revealed in the second or 'new' testament is a loving God. I must disagree. In fact, buried in the Torah, in the book of Exodus, we have the famous ten commandments in chapter 20, and look at the text of the second command: 4 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 5 You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments. -Exodus 20:4-6 (ESV) So, from the beginning of the Hebrew nation's moral laws, God wanted them to know that His love-to-punishment ratio, as it were, was 1000:3! ...

In Jesus' famous sermon on the mount, He makes a connection between the practice of prayer and the discipline of fasting. Here's Matthew's recording of this in chapter 6:9-16 (ESV): Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.  And when you fast..." Prayer AND fasting complement each other well. Jesus' statements seem to affirm and assume people of faith would practice both of these disciplines.  For me, if I am facing a major decision or difficulty, these 2 practices really help enhance my ability to focus, reflect, and really listen to t...

I'm always excited to learn new ways to increase our prayer, and this idea was one I read today from one of my favorite devotional sites commonprayer.net : Prayer Bowl Some families and communities find it helpful to have a prayer bowl on the coffee table or in the room where they gather to pray each day. Whenever someone asks for prayer, they write the request on a little slip of paper and put it in the bowl. Then when it’s time for morning or evening prayer, each person can take a few slips of paper from the bowl and read out the requests during the time for prayers for others. This is also a good way to remember -people we don’t see every day, like children in war zones, victims of human trafficking, or our political leaders. Families with kids or grandkids might really get traction with something like this, right? May we be a people devoted to prayer! 17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, 18 praying at all times in the Spir...